Mahendragarh: Two women in poll field but campaign hot topics skip foeticide and women’s security

MAHENDRAGARH: Two young women with their faces hidden behind veils stand outside a public school in Surjanwas village of Mahendragarh district. They quietly watch the voter outreach meeting by Jannayak Janta Party’s sole woman candidate, Swati Yadav, and try to make sense of her poll promises. They say that women in the village weren’t aware of the meeting, and because they aren’t comfortable being alone in a gathering of men of all ages, they prefer to stand at a distance. The women in these villages aren’t surprised issues that concern them aren’t being taken up in the electoral discourse, even when there are two women candidates — Congress’ Shruti Chaudhary and JJP’s Swati Yadav — in the fray. When asked to point out issues they would want their candidate to address, 50-year-old Munni Devi says, “Why will they take up our issues? Only NGO people or journalists talk about those.” Similarly, 19-year-old Avantika from Gadinia village, who was hoping that the Congress candidate would take up the issues of women’s education and security, was disappointed that once again, their concerns weren’t part of the political pitches. However, Avantika is happy that at least women were invited to be part of the meetings and that Chaudhary greeted them before she exchanged pleasantries with the men of the village. According to the 2011 census, Mahendragarh district has the lowest sex ratio in the country. Despite several flagship programmes by successive governments, promising reduction in girl child morality, the district recorded 775 girls against 1,000 boys in 2011, compared to 818 in 2001. The district has a high rate of crimes against women and female foeticide. Apart from the gender gap notoriety, women activists complain of ‘bride shopping’ and trafficking of women in the area. Mahendragarh district is staring at a gender abyss, so much so that only 286 girls were born against 1,000 boys in Jorasi village in 2014. Yet, none of the two women candidates, who are toiling hard to hold voter outreach meetings in 15-20 villages every day, spared a minute to mention their vision on empowerment in their speeches. While Chaudhary’s agenda was centred around the ruling party’s ‘anti-people’ policies, unemployment, water shortage and farm distress, Yadav’s campaign centred around caste dynamics and development issues. What They DemandAcross the five villages TOI visited, women demanded colleges and sports training centres exclusively for women in the district. Recalling the gang rape of a CBSE topper last year, young girls argued that more streetlights, better public transport and police patrolling would ensure their security and encourage parents to send their daughters out. They also noted that the government should contain rampant alcoholism and drug abuse among young men, to ensure safer public spaces for women. “Girls face a lot of problem in our region. Colleges and sports stadiums are far off, and public transport is intermittent. This is a big hurdle for us to realise our dreams. Moreover, in the absence of proper streetlights and police patrolling, crimes against women are rampant. Many cases aren’t even registered because families fear social ostracism,” pointed out Avantika.

Speaking to TOI, the women of the district unanimously criticised the lack of focus on issues like female foeticide, dowry, education of the girl child, etc. They said these issues continue to affect women because of lack of political will. They believe with more women in politics, things may change in future. “There are still few women in politics. So, it’s not surprising that our issues don’t find any space. But I believe as more and more women join politics, things could change,” said Mamta of Surjanwas village.